Lesson 1: The Roles of Sport Introduction Through the ages, sport has

been known to affect various cultures, traditions, and values in our

society. The stories that come from the world of sport help us to
gain a better understanding of our views on issues of equality, human
rights, child development, standards for health and fitness, and
character development, as well as many other issues. Sport has the
capacity to create much debate over topics such as steroid use,
fighting in hockey, and salaries of professional athletes. There is
no shortage of public opinion on these and other related sport topics.
Many people have favourite physical activities, sports, teams, stars,
or events, such as the Olympic Games or world championships. Many
fans dedicate much time to learning more about their favourite sport
and attending sporting events in support of their favourite athletes
and teams. Many children have aspirations of becoming like their
favourite players, yet very few actually get the opportunity to play
against or alongside their childhood idols. Sport plays a vital role
in Canadian society. Sport receives an inordinate amount of media
attention, and has attracted the interest of most Canadians,
especially when it comes to Olympic ice hockey, curling, and speed
skating.
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___________ Specific Learning Outcomes 11.SI.1 Identify the different
stages of sport participation and their role in society. 11.SI.2
Examine the impact of sport on various social issues. Examples:
ethnic background, gender equity, populations with exceptional needs,
politics, technology, business
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___________ Key Understandings The history of sport helps us to
understand the impact of sport within our society. Physical
activity/sport participation can be classified in different stages.
Each person participates in sport for different reasons.
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________ 242 Grade 11 Active Healthy Lifestyles Essential
Questions 1. What is the role of physical activity/sport in your life?
2. Why is sport considered to have an important role in society? 3.
Why do people participate in physical activity/sport?
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___________ Background Information History of Sport Sport has been
recorded for centuries. In fact, the sport of wrestling is depicted
on ancient Egyptian urns known to be older than 4000 years. Formal
sport was a natural follow-up to the games children played in many
cultures and in different countries. The ancient Greeks are
considered to be the originators of competitive sport. Their
inter city competitions evolved into the original Olympic Games,
which carried over to the Roman gladiator sports. Throughout medieval
times, productive work was considered of utmost importance, and games
and sport were considered to be trivial, unless they were used in
preparation for war and combat. Eventually, with the reincarnation of
the Olympic Games in 1896 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France, a
venue was made available for international competition at the amateur
level. By the 1970s, professional sport had begun to permeate many
sports, and the concept of amateur was removed from the Olympics in
the 1980s. The modern Olympic Games have the greatest economic impact
of any world-wide event and have the greatest media coverage of any
event up to and including the two weeks of competition. Unfortunately,
drug use and abuse have taken away some of the glitter from sport and
even from the Olympics, but modern technology and people’s innate
love of sport are working towards overcoming this problem. R EFERENCE
For additional information on the origin of the Olympic Games, refer
to The Olympic Movement (Official Site): International Olympic
Committee (IOC). “The Ancient Olympic Games.” Olympic Games. . For
website updates, please visit Websites to Support the Grades 11 and
12 Curriculum at .
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________ Module D, Lesson 1 243 Suggestion for Instruction /
Assessment Origin of Sport Give students an opportunity to learn more
about the origins of various sports by having them complete RM1–SI.
Students may want to add a few more sports to the list. Students
could work in pairs during class, or they could complete this task as
a homework assignment. In their search for information, students will
likely need the Internet. Refer to RM 1–SI: History of Sport: Match
the Columns. R EFERENCES Websites such as the following may be useful
for locating information on the origin of various sports: Curling:
Library and Archives Canada. Bonspiel! The History of Curling in
Canada. . Ice hockey: Vaughan, Garth. “Nova Scotian and Canadian
Hockey History.” Birthplace of Hockey. 2001. . Lacrosse: CBC
Archives . “Lacrosse: A History of Canada’s Game.” Sport. . Soccer:
Jose, Colin. “History of Soccer in Canada.” History. Canadian
Soccer Association (CSA). . Volleyball: International Olympic
Committee (IOC). “Volleyball.” Sports. . For website updates,
please visit Websites to Support the Grades 11 and 12 Curriculum at .
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___________ Background Information The Canadian Sport Landscape Many
games and sports are part of a country’s cultural heritage and a
source of national pride. Nowhere is this more evident than in Canada
when our teams are competing at the international level. Canada is a
world power in men’s and women’s ice hockey, curling, speed skating,
and lacrosse, and has produced many world-class sprinters in track
and field, as well as producing world or Olympic champions in several
sports. When these athletes are competing, Canadians are “glued to”
their television sets to watch our national heroes compete for the
top prize. One of the most popular sports is women’s and men’s ice
hockey, a sport in which Canada is considered to produce the world’s
best athletes.
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________ 244 Grade 11 Active Healthy Lifestyles Suggestion for
Instruction / Assessment Sport Origin Choose six to eight famous
Canadian athletes from Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame website.
Print out biographies of selected athletes. Using the Jigsaw learning
strategy (see Appendix E), have students learn about each athlete.
Alternatively, if students are in the computer lab, have them watch a
video clip of their assigned athlete, take notes, and then report
back to their group (using the Jigsaw strategy). R EFERENCES For
additional information, refer to the following websites: Canada’s
Sports Hall of Fame. . Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Kidzone. . For
website updates, please visit Websites to Support the Grades 11 and
12 Curriculum at .
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___________ Background Information The Continuum of Physical Activity
and Sport* As we examine physical activity and sport we quickly
realize that sport is only one of numerous stages along a continuum
of human physical activity: 1. Free play is the first stage of the
continuum, as this is the activity in which we engage as children and
in which we continue to participate throughout life. As children, we
explore, express ourselves, pretend, and role play using various
forms of physical activity. This form of play has no firm rules and
can usually take place anywhere. We engage in this form of play
simply for the pleasure it provides. 2. Game play is the next stage
of the continuum. This form of play requires greater structure and
involves some kind of competition. Game play has a clear set of
objectives that enhance our physical and mental capacities and are
governed by a set of rules and/or regulations. The final outcome of a
game can be based on luck, skill, or strategy, or on any combination
of the three. Game play can be inactive or active: Inactive games
are very popular and include board games, card games, and video games.
Active games include tag games, dodging games, relays, and pick-up
games such as touch football or street hockey. In game play there are
no leagues, standings, or schedules, and the players are usually the
officials. __________ * Source: Adapted, with permission, from R. B.
Woods, 2007, Social Issues in Sport, (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics),
pages 5-9.
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________ Module D, Lesson 1 245 3. Sport is the next stage along
the continuum. As a specialized form of game play, sport generally
involves the following characteristics: Sport contains a physical
component such as strength, speed, endurance, flexibility,
coordination, balance, and/or agility. Sport competition involves
winning and losing; therefore, winning and losing serve as motivating
influences to practise, train, and give the best effort. Sport is
governed by an organization or institution that sets and enforces the
rules and regulations and establishes the way in which results are
kept and used. Sport almost always requires specialized facilities
and equipment that conform to a set standard. Courts, fields, and
pools, for example, require set boundaries and markings. Equipment
must meet standards for size, shape, material, and weight to ensure
fair and equitable competition. Sport in any given society reflects
its values, beliefs, attitudes, and culture. In a society that places
great emphasis on cooperation and fair play one would expect to find
sports, games, and activities that are different from those found in
a society that focused on competition and winning. One might argue
that the youth of today are involved in a movement that may redefine
sport within the North American culture through greater involvement
in alternative sports such as in-line skating, mountain biking, and
wakeboarding. Most people play a sport as a hobby or for the love of
the game. They are immensely satisfied to achieve the intrinsic
rewards of the sport, such as improved health and fitness, improved
skills, friendships, and enjoyment. Sporting activities and equipment
can be modified to include people with disabilities, thereby giving
everyone an opportunity to achieve the personal benefits of sport
involvement. 4. Work is the final stage of the continuum of physical
activity and sport. Some sport participants have developed skills to
such a high degree that they are able to earn a living from their
craft in organized sport. Professional players and coaches who are at
the highest level of organized sport can earn millions of dollars
through salaries, endorsements, and prize money. It is the financial
payments they receive to perform in sport that classifies them as
professionals. The level of training and commitment needed from a
very early age to pursue a dream of becoming a professional athlete
is characteristic of work. Pushing the young body to its physical,
mental, and emotional limits at a very young age is similar to the
work that seasoned and well-conditioned professional athletes must
endure. It is small wonder that only a few amateur athletes can ever
hope to attain the professional level.
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________ 246 Grade 11 Active Healthy Lifestyles Suggestion for
Instruction / Assessment Examples of Free Play Have students cut or
tear a sheet of paper into 12 pieces. Ask students to identify three
examples of free play that one might engage in as a child, as a teen,
as an adult, and as a senior, and have them write each example on one
slip of paper. Divide a board into the four age group categories
(child, teen, adult, and senior) and have students place their slips
of paper into the appropriate categories. Ask students to respond to
the following questions: Are there any suggestions that are not
examples of free play? How are the examples of free play for each
age group different? How are they similar? Does each of the four
categories have examples of the purposes (exploration,
self expression, pretence, role playing) of free play? If the
purposes change, why do they change from one age group to another?
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___________ Suggestion for Instruction / Assessment Continuum of
Participation Provide students with a copy of RM 2–SI and have them
classify a list of activities according to the stage that best
describes each activity. As a class, create a Physical Activity
Continuum with examples of the stages included. Refer to RM 2–SI:
The Continuum of Physical Activity/Sport Participation.
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___________ Suggestion for Instruction / Assessment Why Do People
Become Involved in Sport? Have students form groups of three to
discuss why people become involved in sport. Two students in each
group brainstorm reasons for participation in sport and the third
person records the suggested examples. Some reasons for participation
in sport that students may include are provided below: enjoyment
and fun filling free time parental influence and/or
expectations
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________ Module D, Lesson 1 247 risk and excitement meeting
and playing with others (social relationships) fitness and health
(e.g., cardiovascular fitness, body shape, stress management)
skill development character development (e.g., leadership,
teamwork, communication, self-confidence, self-esteem) personal
rewards (e.g., awards, scholarships, recognition) financial gain
Next, have students distinguish between their suggested examples
using the following categories: extrinsic motivators of
participation in sport intrinsic motivators of participation in
sport desirable outcomes of participation in sport Facilitate a
class discussion on the following questions: Is sport valued or
not valued in Canada at the various stages of the continuum of
physical activity and sport: free play, game play, sport, and work?
How is this shown? What does Canada need to do to promote physical
activity participation? What does Canada need to do to be known as
an active and healthy country?
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___________ Suggestion for Instruction / Assessment Values in Sport
Using the Think-Pair-Share strategy (see Appendix E), have students
reflect on and discuss the following questions, first individually,
then with a partner, and finally as a class: Has sport influenced
society? If so, how? Has sport influenced you in any way? If so,
how? Has sport helped young people develop positive values? Why or
why not? What are some of the values learned through sport? Are
they positive or negative?
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________ 248 Grade 11 Active Healthy Lifestyles RM 1–SI: History
of Sport: Match the Columns Sport/Event Match Description/Origin of
Sport/Event 1. Golf a. The first of these festivals, which were part
of a religious festival to honour Zeus, was held in 776 BCE. 2. Ice
hockey b. Canada’s official summer game. First played by the First
Nations in the 1600s. 3. Volleyball c. The Chinese played a form of
this game more than 3000 years ago. 4. Basketball d. A Scottish game
played with rocks dating back to 1511. 5. First Olympic Games e. Game
invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan in Massachusetts, USA. 6.
Curling f. Originated around 1800 in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada. 7.
Weight lifting g. Games held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. 8. Lacrosse
h. This sport, in some form, probably dates to prehistoric times.
Most likely, someone lifted a heavy rock and then challenged someone
else to try it. 9. Soccer i. Developed in the 1960s. The first piece
of equipment used was called the Snurfer. 10. Triathlon j. Invented
by Canadian James Naismith in 1891. 11. Snowboarding k. The first
game was played in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1456. 12. Speed skating l.
Cave drawings of this sport have been found, dating back to 3000 BCE,
in the (Chinese) Sumero-Akkadian civilization. 13. Wrestling m. Dates
back over 1000 years, to the canals and waterways of Scandinavia and
the Netherlands. 14. First modern- day Olympic Games n. Invented in
the early 1970s by the San Diego Track Club.
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________ Module D, Lesson 1 249 RM 1–SI: History of Sport: Match
the Columns (Answer Key) Sport/Event Match Description/Origin of
Sport/Event 1. Golf k a. The first of these festivals, which were
part of a religious festival to honour Zeus, was held in 776 BCE. 2.
Ice hockey f b. Canada’s official summer game. First played by the
First Nations in the 1600s. 3. Volleyball e c. The Chinese played a
form of this game more than 3000 years ago. 4. Basketball j d. A
Scottish game played with rocks dating back to 1511. 5. First Olympic
Games a e. Game invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan in
Massachusetts, USA. 6. Curling d f. Originated around 1800 in Windsor,
Nova Scotia, Canada. 7. Weight lifting h g. Games held in Athens,
Greece, in 1896. 8. Lacrosse b h. This sport, in some form, probably
dates to prehistoric times. Most likely, someone lifted a heavy rock
and then challenged someone else to try it. 9. Soccer c i. Developed
in the 1960s. The first piece of equipment used was called the
Snurfer. 10. Triathlon n j. Invented by Canadian James Naismith in
1891. 11. Snowboarding i k. The first game was played in Edinburgh,
Scotland, in 1456. 12. Speed skating m l. Cave drawings of this sport
have been found, dating back to 3000 BCE, in the (Chinese) Sumero-
Akkadian civilization. 13. Wrestling l m. Dates back over 1000 years,
to the canals and waterways of Scandinavia and the Netherlands. 14.
First modern- day Olympic Games g n. Invented in the early 1970s by
the San Diego Track Club.
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________ 250 Grade 11 Active Healthy Lifestyle